I cant imagine Apple initially selling the iPhone for anything less then the already anounced prices. The market would interpret that as Apple had missjudged the marketvalue of their product. Upgrading memory and adding new features (and maybe lowering the prices AFTER the product is relased and made a considerable mark on the market) is much, much more likely.
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4 Gig $499 and 8 Gig $599 iPhone just a Ploy to Fool the Competition?
- Thread starter Chiggs
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The 40gb hard drive isn't there as a feature, it't there to make playback from slower networks possible by acting as a buffer.
I'd be very very surprised if the iPhone doesn't launch with the exact specs Steve mentioned, at the exact price.
The only real component that they could bank on possible price reductions is the flash memory, all the other components will reduce over time as manufacturing increases, not just because time is passing between now and launch. Besides, the cheaper Apple get's the parts the more profit they make.
With pretty much zero direct competition, for a phone of this spec, in the market Apple doesn't need to drop the price to compete. It's not a 5th gen product where competitors are finally starting to catch up.
With Apple planning to ship ten million of these in the first year they are going to have to have huge quantities available on launch. They have to get approval from the FCC before they even begin to manufacture the device in large numbers. The software for the phone isn't even finished yet. There is no chance they will upgrade a product that hasn't even gone on sale yet!
Probably more important than overall thickness is the power drain of a hard drive as well as the durability of a drive as opposed to flash. Cell phones get dropped a lot and could cause some big problems if the drive is writing at the time. But boy, 30+gb in this thing would be AMAZING!
I doubt a huge price drop is coming. But I think the overall point is valid- they probably haven't revealed everything, and could at least do a minor spec bump. Just like they're not showing all their cards with Leopard. The comments about perception of a price drop are very valid.
Yes, and Windows is just like Mac OS. The physical design is not new- it's a slab with a screen, how can it be that different or unique? It's the UI that sets the iPhone apart, and is where most all their new patents for this device apply. Everyone WILL be copying the iPhone UI, but it will take them a long time to do so.
Um.... I'd call that a feature
Besides, it is not just a buffer. You can actually store the videos on there so that you don't always need your computer running to watch stuff.
i would guess u are talking about OS UI, not hardware UI? since apparent LG's stuff has similar hardware UI, i.e. looks of the machine.
about OS UI, i don't know, just like u said, it take long time to develop an OS to compete with iphone, and the players in the market (smartphone market, palm, RIM, Samsung, etc, etc,) now all have their own OSs, before the real outcome of iphone's market future, i think of no reason for them to rush to mimic iphone's OS UI.
finally, for mac and pc, ur comparison has a point, OSX's UI looks much nicer than windows. But im not sure if u can say the same thing for smartphones, palm OS, windows Mobile, RIM's blackberry, and LG's new gadget, for such a small screen, how important is the nice OS UI? or is iphone's UI nice enough when compare to other smartphones?
I kinda feel there are a whole lot more thing ppl will consider before they think about UI when they are in the market for a smartphone.
How long will the iPhone be on the streets before some 3rd party starts offering memory upgrades. If some crazed hacker can figure out how to clone the OS to a new flash drive there's no reason expansion isn't possible. Of course it would void the warranty.
Cingular Rep hinted at price drop in June
I called Cingular to see what plans and phones they could offer me if I swithced now (current cell phone contract with another company expired) then upgraded to the iPhone in June. They had nothing very reasonable to fill the gap for people in my position, but the rep offere a few interesting comments.
First, cingular sales reps have started creating first-come-first-served lists and will call you as soon as they can take orders.
Second, he said the non-contract price for the 4GB iPHone will be $699 in June, as opposed to the $499 price currently advertised.
Third, he thought that the 4GB phone "may see further price reductions" below the $499 contract price "once [they] start taking orders."
Fourth, he didn't know what the monthly data plans will cost.
I called Cingular to see what plans and phones they could offer me if I swithced now (current cell phone contract with another company expired) then upgraded to the iPhone in June. They had nothing very reasonable to fill the gap for people in my position, but the rep offere a few interesting comments.
First, cingular sales reps have started creating first-come-first-served lists and will call you as soon as they can take orders.
Second, he said the non-contract price for the 4GB iPHone will be $699 in June, as opposed to the $499 price currently advertised.
Third, he thought that the 4GB phone "may see further price reductions" below the $499 contract price "once [they] start taking orders."
Fourth, he didn't know what the monthly data plans will cost.
My guess is that the non-contract price is for Cingular customers (like me) who are currently locked into plans. That would be disappointing as I was hoping to be able to just pay a nominal fee to upgrade my phone. $200 is not a nominal fee to me.
oh, ok. sorry to hear that, im using cingular now too, but my contract already expired, im doing month 2 month for now.
anyway, this means the real price for the machine is around $700 (4G ver)......
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply an unlocked price. (Also, I don't really know what "unlocked" means.) The $699 v. $499 price for a 4GB unit was not discussed in the context of locked or unlocked. It was a contractual / promotional price versus the cost to upgrade from another Cingular phone to the iPhone just 5 or six months into the 2 year contract. In other words, if I wait until June to move to Cingular, and iPhone will cost me $499 (or less!) for the 4GB unit, but if I join Cingular today and enter into a 2-year contract with them, then ask for an iPhone in June, they will charge me $699 for the 4GB unit.
Last August my wife wanted a Moto Razr and I wanted a Nokia 6682. Even though we were Cingular customers with no contract Cingular wanted us to pay full price for the phones. Instead of paying full price we cancelled our original numbers and bought both phones with a 2 yr contract for the total cost of .02 ¢ through Amazon.
It's ridiculous that Cingular won't cut current customers a break on upgrades. A supposed $200 mark up on the iPhone would be enough for me to cancel my # and then resubscribe - especially when I plan on buying 2 iPhones (his/hers).
It's ridiculous that Cingular won't cut current customers a break on upgrades. A supposed $200 mark up on the iPhone would be enough for me to cancel my # and then resubscribe - especially when I plan on buying 2 iPhones (his/hers).
I was hoping Cingular will offer some kind of rebate or price reduction when it comes out. My Sprint contract runs out in May, and I'm not going to renew until I see what the iPhone and Cingular has to offer.
